MAKING THEATRE
THE JUNGLE
Meet the hopeful, resilient residents of the Jungle – just across the Channel, right on our doorstep. This is the place where people suffered and dreamed. Where a community forged from necessity shares its unimaginable stories of hope against all odds.
“The Jungle is more urgent than ever… Its enduring relevance is depressing; its triumph as a necessary work of theatre is anything but.”
- The New York Times, 2023
“That rare thing: a necessary piece of theatre”
- ★★★★★ The Guardian
The Jungle tells stories of loss, fear, community and hope, of the Calais camp’s creation - and of its eventual destruction. Sitting amongst the residents in the Afghan Café, the audience experiences the intense, moving and uplifting encounters between refugees from many different countries and the volunteers who arrived from the UK.
“A significant event in which theatre shakes hands with the world”
- ★★★★★ The Sunday TimesThe Jungle was born out of the experiences of Joe and Joe, Good Chance’s founders and Co-Artistic Directors, and the many people they met in Calais, collaborating on workshops and performances with thousands of people moving through the camp for seven months in the original Good Chance Dome.
It has been a sell-out hit across the UK and US since 2017, sparking new conversations with more than 150,000 audience members about how we live together now and raising more than £220,000 for organisations supporting refugees.
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Young Vic, London
December 2017 - January 2018
The Jungle was commissioned by the National Theatre and first presented at the Young Vic Theatre in December 2017 in a co-production by the National Theatre and Young Vic with Good Chance Theatre, supported by the KT Wong Foundation.
Photography © David Sandison -
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The Playhouse Theatre, London
June - November 2018
The Jungle opened at the Playhouse Theatre in London’s West End in June 2018, presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, Tom Kirdahy and Hunter Arnold.
Photography © Marc Brenner -
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St Ann's Warehouse, New York
December 2018 - January 2019
& February - March 2023
The Jungle first played at St Ann’s Warehouse in New York in December 2018 before returning by popular demand in 2023, a Good Chance Theatre co-production with the National Theatre and Young Vic, presented by Good Chance Theatre and St Ann’s Warehouse.
Photography © Teddy Wolff -
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The Curran, San Fancisco
March - May 2019
The Jungle opened at The Curran Theatre, San Francisco presented by Sonia Friedman Productions with Tom Kirdahy.
Photography © Little Fang -
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Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington D.C.
March - April 2023
The Jungle returned to New York for a limited run in partnership with St. Ann’s Warehouse, followed by the nation's capital Washington DC at Shakespeare Theatre Company in co-production with Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.
Photography © Teddy Wolff -
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Dasdas, Istanbul
November 2023
A rehearsed reading of The Jungle in Turkish presented as part of Galata Perform Festival, directed by Ammar Haj Ahmad - who has played Safi, the narrator, in every performance of the play produced by us to date - and translated by Ferdi Çetin. Find out more.
Photography © Marc Brenner
150k+
AUDIENCE REACHED GLOABLLY
95%
OF AUDIENCES TALKED TO OTHER PEOPLE ABOUT REFUGEE RIGHTS AFTER SEEING THE JUNGLE
£220k+
RASIED TO SUPPORT REFUGEES
“The Jungle arrives here with bruising relevance… It is, above all, a work of absorbing theater, which uses the immediacy of that art to conjure the paradoxes and confusions of a world dealing with an unprecedented flux of uprooted lives.”
- Ben Brantley, The New York Times, in a Critic's Pick Review
New York Times “How three actors overcame Trump’s travel ban to take the New York stage.”
The Guardian - 5 stars, "This is that rare thing: a necessary piece of theatre".
The Telegraph - 5 stars, "The human warmth of those we encounter is inspiring – the West End just got a heart transplant".
Other International Productions of The Jungle
Sri Lanka
August 2023, Colombo Tower Hall
The Sinhala adaptation, translated by Kaushalya Fernando, directed by Chamila Priyanka and produced by Magma Entertainment.
South Korea
September 2020, Emu (Monta Garage)
May 2021, Grand Theater of Daehak-ro Art Theater for Seoul Theater Festival
November 2023, Yeonhee Arts Theater
Directed by Kim Hye-ri and produced by Eye to Soul Theatre Company.
Creative Team
Written by
Joe Murphy and Joe Robertson
Directors
Stephen Daldry and Justin Martin
Set Designer
Miriam Buether
Costumer Designer
Catherine Kodicek
Lighting Designer
Jon Clark
Sound Designer
Paul Arditti
Musical Composition
John Pfumojena
Video Designers
Tristan Shepherd and Duncan McLean
Casting Director
Julia Horan, CDG
Creative Consultant
Amy Reade
Executive Producer 2017-19
David Lan
Awards
2023
NOMINATED, Outstanding Visiting Production and Outstanding Performer, Visiting Production (Ben Turner, Jonathan Nyati, Julie Hesmondhalgh and Twana Omer), Helen Hayes Awards 2024
The Jungle - Outstanding Visiting Production
2020
WINNER, Entire Production San Francisco and Entire Production Bay Area, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle 2020
WINNER, Best Ensemble, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle 2020
WINNER, Best Set Design, Miriam Buether, San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle 2020
WINNER, Best Direction Of A Play, Stephen Daldry And Justin Martin, Broadway World Awards San Francisco 2020
WINNER, Best Featured Actor In A Play, John Pfumojena, Broadway World Awards San Francisco, 2020
WINNER, Best Featured Actress In A Play, Nahel Tzegai, Broadway World Awards San Francisco, 2020
WINNER, Best Local Play, The Jungle, Broadway World Awards San Francisco, 2020
2019
WINNER, Special Citation To Cast And Creative Team, The Jungle (St Ann’s Warehouse) Obie Awards 2019
WINNER, Special Recognition Award To Joe Murphy And Joe Robertson, Mousetrap Theatre Awards 2019
NOMINATED, Best Set Design, What’s On Stage Awards 2019
NOMINATED, Director Of A Play, Outstanding Lighting Design For A Play, Outstanding Set Design Of A Play, Drama Desk Awards 2019
NOMINATED, Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-Broadway Play, Distinguished Performance Award Ammar Haj-Ahmad And Ben Turner, The Drama League Awards 2019
2018
WINNER, Award For Theatre, Southbank Sky Arts Award 2018
WINNER, Best Set Design, Evening Standard Awards 2018
WINNER, Best New Production, Broadway World Uk Awards 2018
NOMINATED, Best New Play, What’s On Stage Awards 2018
NOMINATED, Best West End Debut Award, The Stage Awards 2018
Watch The Jungle trailer!
STORIES FROM THE JUNGLE
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Majid's Story
Iranian visual artist Majid Adin found the inspiration to draw again in Good Chance’s Dome in Calais. After arriving in the UK, he won a competition to collaborate with Elton John and is now commissioned worldwide.
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Calais 2015: A Theatre is Born
Good Chance built its first theatre in the Jungle refugee camp in Calais. It was a place for people to come together, to express themselves and escape or confront the situations they were in.
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Sounds of Refuge
An original album fusing Sudanese and Zimbabwean music with Syrian spoken word, recorded at the world-famous Abbey Road Studios. Listen now!